'Let's make Milton Keynes an official 'Age Friendly Community' urges city councillor
City Conservatives are calling for Milton Keynes to become an official Age Friendly Community and embrace its older residents.
Age Friendly Communities are places that support residents aged 50 and over to "age well and live a good later life”.
This entails all parts of society, including councils, local groups and businesses, working together to improve our environments - whether that be improving green spaces, leisure and community services or improving local transport links.
Tory councillor David Hopkins, who is proposing a motion at this week’s Full Council meeting to make MK one of the growing network of 100 such communities all over the UK.
Areas such as Greater Manchester, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire andmCardiff have all joined the initiative and Cllr Hopkins believes Milton Keynes should be next.
The Centre for Ageing Better works with Age-friendly communities to provide guidance, connect places and offer support to member communities as they work towards making their services and infrastructure more age-friendly.
Councillor Hopkins comments wants residents, the voluntary sector and businesses to help shape Age Friendly MK.
"I see MK as a place where growing older means living well at any age and any level of ability, and where every generation feels value and contented,” he said.
"What I want to see happen first is that we, the city councillors, hear from residents, so we should reaching across the city to listen to older people's experiences to see what's working, what could be better and what do people want for the future. Our local residents’ experiences should help shape a city-wide communities plan, guiding our next steps."
Cllr Hopkins, who is 69, added, "I am personally committed to working alongside the whole city council, our local Integrated Care Board and our sector partners to co-design solutions that reflect lived experience, promote wellbeing and foster meaningful participation. Together, I believe we can build a city where ageing is celebrated and every individual feels connected, valued and empowered."
The Age-friendly Communities approach was developed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2007, in consultation with older people around the globe.
Cllr Hopkins said: “By becoming an Age-friendly Community, an area is showing a demonstrable commitment to its population and acknowledging that the needs of older populations must be recognised and understood."